The Voice of Reason
by HopelesslyHappy
Summary: Sam, a girl with a haunting past, is the new girl in Mystic Falls. When vampires threatens Elena's life, will Sam possess the key to saving Elena and the town?  DamonxOC StefanxElena
1. New Girl

VDFF

_Chapter 1_

It had been three days since I left Texas. I hitch hiked my way to Virginia and then bought a train ticket to an unknown town called Fell's Church. I have no idea what is in store for me here. All I hope is that if I'm in a place that no one has even heard of, he won't be able to find me here either.

"Please Sam! Please help me! Sam!" The sound of Jaime's voice haunts me all the way to Fell's Church High. I'm enrolling as a senior even though I already have enough credits to graduate. I've been practicing my story and I know I have it memorized by the time I have to recite it to the red haired woman behind the desk.

"No ma'am. I'm living with my cousins. Yes ma'am, I know I need a parent's signature, but my parents are on a mission trip in Africa, they're pediatricians you see." No one can resist people helping tiny humans, especially those who live on another continent. I know my story is gold when she files my papers even without the proper signatures. She sends me on my way to my first period, History, and wishes my parents the best of luck.

History was never one of my favorite subjects, but when I walk into class and the teacher doesn't make me stand in front of everyone like a carnie I am instantly relieved. Everyone stares at me like I'm a freak anyway though. I guess in small towns a new kid moving in might as well be an alien who landed in a UFO. I feel so alone. The ginger secretary didn't even bother to give me a book so I have absolutely no idea what Mr. Saltzman is even talking about. It gets even worse when he asks me what year the Founding Families founded Fell's Church. I guess I skipped over that while reading the handbook at the train station. Luckily, the girl sitting next to me answers the question for me.

"Hi, I'm Bonnie Bennett. You must be a new here. I don't know why Mr. Saltzman would think you would know when the tiny town was founded. The only people who do know are people like him."

"Yeah, it's a lot different from Texas. History questions down there are like who made the first gun or something."

"Wow! I don't think Fell's Church has ever had a native Texan before. You must be the first." I find it easy to smile with her. I still have to force the feeling but it doesn't cause as much pain as it used to. Maybe this place will bring me some peace.

Bonnie promises to find me at lunch so I won't have to sit alone. As she walks away I look at my schedule to see what class I have to suffer through next. Calculus. Lord, save me now. A few hormonal boys offer to carry my bag to class, but I politely decline. A boyfriend is exactly what I don't need in my life right now. I sit down in the chair next to the window and hope I become invisible. When the teacher walks in I know she's going to be the type to make me announce myself to the class; my assumption was right.

"Umm let's see, oh class we have a new student today! Samantha James? Hello, dear. Why don't you come introduce yourself? Yes, yes at the front. That a girl."

"Hi, I'm Sam."

"Well come on now. Don't be shy. Where did you move from? How old are you? How do you like Fell's Church?"

"Umm…I moved here from Dallas, Texas. I'm seventeen years old. I've only been here for a few hours, but it seems pretty nice. It's a lot different from what I'm used to though." After saying I was from Texas the students in the class immediately start whispering to each other.

"Oh how lovely! And why did you leave Texas?"

There it was. The question I had been avoiding. Just another lie I would have to tell. I highly doubted they wanted to know that I had killed four people and came here to escape the voices in my head. That would go over nicely. Instead I stuck to the plan and piped out the lies I had rehearsed. "Well my parents left for a mission trip in Africa and they sent me to stay with my cousins here in Fell's Church until they get back."

"Oh well isn't that fascinating. Welcome to Fell's Church, dear."

I quickly crept back to my seat and tried to hide my face with my hair. After what seemed like hours of torture, the bell finally rang for lunch. For a few seconds I feared Bonnie had forgotten about me, but I saw her standing near the water fountain just like she promised.

"Hey! How was second?" Bonnie fiddled with her wallet white we waited in line for pizza.

"Terrible. Mrs. Coehler made me introduce myself to the class. I was so humiliated."

"Awh I'm sorry! At least you didn't have to sit in the front row of Mr. Brown's class while he spits all over your face. Disgusting."

"That does sound pretty gross. But being the new girl in a small town beats drool any day." I'm finding it easier to smile and almost laugh around Bonnie. Something about her just relaxes me.

After we've paid for two slices of cheese pizza and two lemonades we make our way to a table in the corner of the room. There's already a blonde girl and a couple sitting down. Bonnie introduces me to them. The blonde is Caroline and the comfortable couple is Elena and Stefan. Huddled together in the corner they act as though they share some kind of secret that will never be able to break them. Caroline seems standoffish at first, the boy is shy but kind, and Elena is very welcoming. They don't ask me too many questions and most of the time they just talked amongst themselves while I ate my lunch.

After the bell I say good-bye to the group only to find out that Stefan is in my next class. He sits by me and warns me not to ask any questions while Ms. Edwards is teaching. Unfortunately, she talks in a monotone for most of the period. About half way through, I made the stupid decision to put my head down on my desk. Almost instantly I was asleep.

"Sam. Sam why aren't you helping me? It hurts so much. Please make it stop. Sam! Sam, make him stop!" I feel someone's hand grabbing my shoulder. I jump up to see the teacher calling the nurse on the phone and thirty pairs of eyes staring at me. It's Stefan's hand on my shoulder, not Jamie's. It took the rest of third period to explain that I was just dreaming and that I didn't think anyone was trying to kill Jamie Pfizer. Lucky for me, there just happened to be a Jamie in the class that I had a nightmare in.

By the time I got to fourth period, the whole school had heard about my escapade. Desperate not to sleep in art, I began working on the clay project that the teacher said I could skip. After three failed attempts and a rabbit I decided to make a snake instead.

"It helps if you keep the clay wet, that way it doesn't crack like that. I'm Matt, by the way." The boy who was offering me much needed help was your typical jock. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and enough muscles for two people. Despite his looks, his smile seems genuine and he wasn't completely avoiding me like everyone else was.

"Thanks. I didn't know it was going to be this frustrating. You would think even a first grader could make a clay snake. Maybe it's me and not the clay." I kept on wetting the clay hoping the cracks would go away.

"That's too wet now. When it's too wet you won't be able to shape it into anything. Here, let me help you." He took the clay rope out of my hands, rubbed it with a paper towel, and three minutes later it was a beautiful snake, head and all.

"Oh my gosh. You made that look so easy. Thank you." Like with Bonnie, I found it easy to smile with Matt. Something about these people made me feel like I was apart of a family again. "So…I guess everyone thinks I'm crazy now huh. What kinds of terrible things are they saying?"

"Well, rumors spread fast but in the process they get all mixed up. Some stories are that you tried to choke Jamie Pfizer. Other people say you threatened to blow up the school so you can see how out of control they can get."

"And what about you, what do you think?" I don't know why I wanted to know what he thought about me. I guess he was one of the few people who talked to me at this school and I didn't want him to think I was a freak.

"I think that you were suffering through one of the worst classes at Fell's Church High and you fell asleep and had a dream. Which is understandable, if I had gotten put in that class I probably would have choked people just to get out of it. And besides, this is your first day here. There's no way you could know how annoying Jamie is well enough to kill him, so it must have been a different Jamie. Just a coincidence."

I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth, but once they started to come out I couldn't do anything to stop them. "Jamie was my brother. He was killed two months ago. The doctors say I have post-traumatic stress disorder so sometimes when I sleep I relive the day he died. That's what happened in class."

"I'm sorry about your brother. I lost my mom a few years ago; I used to have dreams, too. It gets better though. I promise."

"Thanks, Matt. I'm gonna hold you to that promise." For the first time in two months I smiled without even knowing.


	2. Caroline

_Chapter Two_

I woke up the next morning and started getting ready for my second day of school in Fell's Church. Yesterday after school Bonnie had asked me to come to a study hall at her house tonight. Supposedly Mr. Saltzman's tests were killer. I declined at first but she basically threatened me if I didn't go, so of course I agreed. I don't know if Matt's going to be there, but a part of me really hope he is.

I suffer through another day at school, go home and shower, and then make my way back to the school. Bonnie told me she'd pick me up at five so we could go shopping before we meet everyone at her house at seven.

"Hey Sam! You ready?" Bonnie pulls up seconds after I've arrived. She's dressed in a beautiful green dress that shows off her red hair. Instantly my jeans and UT shirt seem completely out of place.

"Yeah, but I think I'm not dressed appropriately." I fasten my seatbelt and shrink in to the seat, ashamed of my outfit.

"Oh don't worry! We are going shopping remember? We'll find you something amazing at the mall."

After an hour of shopping, Bonnie finally approves of a long sleeve, black lacey cocktail dress. Then we went to the grocery store to pick up snacks and soda.

"And I have the perfect pair of heels to go with your dress! I'm so excited!"

"So…who's coming tonight?" I know I'm really only asking her this to find out about Matt, but I want her to think I'm simply curious.

"Umm let's see, Elena with Stefan of course, Tyler, Caroline, and Matt. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." I can't keep from smiling all the way back to her house.

"Sam! They're here! Come down now!" I hear Bonnie calling me as I put on the black pumps she's lending me. They fit perfectly. I come down the stairs and walk into the living. Instantly my eyes find Matt. He's wearing a baby blue flannel shirt with jeans and he has the biggest grin on his face. I casually go and sit on the couch across from him.

"Wow Sam, you look amazing!" Caroline compliments me and I tell her she looks amazing, too.

"Where's Elena?" I notice that Stefan is here by himself.

"She caught a cold or something. She's home in bed"

"Oh, that's too bad." Stefan looks so lonely without Elena by his side.

"Well, I guess it's time to do some real work now. Caroline, why don't you start us off reading chapter nine." We read chapter nine twice and start answering the questions in the back of the book. I look up several times to catch Matt looking at me, too. I realize that the feeling in my stomach is from butterflies and not because of the queso Bonnie bought. Right before my life turns crazy again, I'm beginning to think I can finally be happy with Matt.

"DING! DONG!" Bonnie jumps up to look out the window.

"I wonder who that could be? Oh, Elena you made it! Stefan told us you were sick." Bonnie and Elena come back into the living room.

"Jenna gave me some medicine so I feel much better now. What are we studying?" Bonnie catches Elena up on what she missed and we continue to answer the chapter questions. Halfway through, we all decide to take a quick brain break. Elena and Caroline go into the kitchen to refill everyone's drinks. I look up to see Matt making his way over to me.

"Hey Sam, you look so pretty tonight. I hope you're having fun. At least there's no clay, right?" He smiles and the butterflies in my stomach start running.

"Thanks, so do you. Yes thank goodness there's-" Right in the middle of my sentence there is a terrible crash in the kitchen. Bonnie and I race in there to check it out. The first thing I see is Caroline's body on the ground. Two seconds later I look up to see Elena's mouth covered in blood. Bonnie screams and faints on the floor at the same time that Elena disappears from the kitchen.

"Bonnie? Bonnie! Wake up! Someone call an ambulance!" Matt runs in and I can hear Stefan on his cell phone. I tell Matt what I saw and he helps me carry Bonnie and Caroline to the couch. I find a towel in the closet and put it on Caroline's neck. She's already lost a lot of blood but I can still hear a faint heartbeat.

"Stefan? When's the ambulance coming?" I hope they come soon, I don't know how much longer Caroline will last without a transfusion.

"They're not coming." He moves over to stand in front of the door. I've never seen him look so scary. His eyes are dark and hidden by his hair.

"What do you mean not coming?" Matt's almost in hysterics when Stefan keeps him from calling 911 from his cell phone. While Matt and Stefan are arguing with each other, there is another knock on the door. Stefan answers it and invites a boy inside who has long hair, almost like Stefan's but darker, and eyes so black you can't distinguish his pupil.

"I got the call. Tell me what happened." The boy looks around and his eyes linger on mine for a few seconds. "Who's the newbie?"

"I'm Sam. What the hell is going on here? Caroline needs an ambulance. She's going to bleed out soon." Matt brings another towel to replace the blood soaked one I had been using.

"Why I didn't know we had a doctor in the house. She's not going to the hospital. Instead, she's probably going to die. And it's okay that I'm telling you this because you are all going to forget this as soon as I'm done with y'all." As he says this he walks over to Caroline's body. I stand up and step in front of him.

"I don't know who you are or what you think you're about to do, but she's not going to die. I'm going to take her to the hospital if I have to carry her there."

The boy steps so close to me that I can finally find his pupils. "My name is Damon, and I'm going to kill this girl so she doesn't become a vampire. You see, and evil vampire named Katharine has come back, and she sucked all the blood out of your little friend here." As he's talking his pupils dilate to inhuman proportions. "Now then, step aside and forget I told you anything."


	3. The House

I stare blankly at this Damon for a few long seconds. I heard the words come out of his mouth, especially the word "vampire." But my mind refuses to accept it. How is it possible that I leave a city and end up in a town with the same problem I'm running from?

"Listen, Damon, I don't care who you are or who Katherine is, Caroline is going to the hospital. Now step aside."

Damon's eyes widen and he seems genuinely shocked, but he recovers quickly.

"I don't know where you got vervain, or how you know about vampires, but she's not going to the hospital. I'll kill you, too, if that's what it takes to get you to understand." Damon takes a step closer to me until our bodies are almost touches. I take another step forward, this time my chest rubs against his.

"You're mind tricks and scare tactics might work on other people, but don't bother trying them on me. You should know not to play games with people that can play them better." I turn and grab Caroline, Matt looks at me blankly; the compulsion worked on him. I turn and carry her to the door and I hear Stefan telling Damon to back down. I look over my shoulder to glare at the boy with dark hair and eyes. I shut the door in his face and speed off in Bonnie's car hoping I can figure out how to get to the hospital.

I stayed at the hospital until Caroline's mother showed up. She was wearing a sheriff uniform and I didn't need anyone digging into my past or questioning me about what just happened. I already guessed who would be standing outside of Bonnie's car when I walked into the parking lot and spotted him.

"You sure are brave, standing up to a vampire like that. Was she really worth it?"

"You really are full of yourself, huh? Tell me, where has the feeling of being invincible got you so far? You think just because you don't age you're immortal? You're wrong." I walked to the driver door and opened it, only to have the door slammed shut by Damon. He kept his hand on the door, leaving one side of my body trapped. I turned my body so I could stare into his eyes. I wanted him to know I wasn't afraid. Not to die, not of pain, and certainly not of him.

"What my brother is trying to say is, how do you know about us? How do you know about vampires?" Stefan came around the car and Damon relaxed his hand off the car door. I decided it was best not to tell them the truth. They obviously weren't trustworthy if they were going to kill Caroline just because she got bit. But what should I say? I hadn't prepared this speech. I didn't plan on coming into contact with vampires ever again.

"I knew a vampire back home, in Texas. We dated for a while and he told me everything. He gave me vervain because he was worried someone wanting revenge would come after me. And he was right, they killed him." I figured this was partially true. Just enough of the truth to be believable, especially since I'm sure that's exactly the case with Stefan and Elena. Stefan seemed convinced, but Damon was still judging me with his eyes.

"What do we need to do to ensure you will keep our secret? The town is already suspicious, we don't need any fingers pointed at us."

"How about we kill her? Or maybe, threaten her to leave town and never come back?" Damon smirked at me and Stefan just sighed.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, unless I have a reason to. If I find out anything happened to Caroline, I will tell the sheriff. But, if it will comfort you to know, I really don't want to do that because I have some things in my past I don't want people to find out either." Damon strained his face when I said I didn't want people knowing about me, and Stefan nodded his head in agreement that that would suffice for him. Feeling that things were settled enough for the night, I climbed into the car and drove back to Bonnie's house. I returned the heels and began walking back to my "house." It really wasn't more than a car I pulled from the junkyard that I kept by clothes and what few dollars I had left. After a long night of walking, I climbed into the back seat, wrapped myself in my blanket, and fell asleep.

Damon's POV

I wasn't about to just trust some random girl with my secret. If she had secrets of her own, I intended to find them out in case I needed to black mail her in the near future. I followed her back to the witch's house while she dropped off the car and some shoes. Weird. Then she began walking. At first I thought she was just walking to her car, but after a couple of miles I guessed she was walking back to her house. Also weird. The girl came to a car that was parked in between some trees. It didn't look like much, that's for sure. But she unlocked the door, crawled in, and covered herself in a hideous blanket. What the hell was this girl doing? After several minutes her breathing slowed and I crept to the window to peer in. She was sleeping, in an abandoned car, in the woods. I looked around the rest of the car and all I saw were some clothes, schoolbooks, and some empty water bottles. Surely this wasn't where she stayed all the time? My curiosity got the best of me and I stayed until the morning. Surely enough, she woke up, changed clothes at which time I chivalrously looked away, then gathered her books and started walking to the school. I continued to follow her hoping I would catch her doing something naughty.

Sam's POV

"Are you going to follow me to all my classes too, Damon?" I turned around and waited for him to come out of the shadows. I assumed he had followed me all the way from the hospital, and I was angry that I hadn't noticed sooner.

"Psh, no. High school is a joke. Besides, I'm too good looking for that school."

"Ah, I see. Why are you following me then? Hoping to find me doing something wrong so you can use it against me in case I try to tell? I'm not going to, so you're just wasting your time. Good bye, Damon." I left him standing there and continued on to school. Matt and Bonnie were standing outside telling other students what Damon had compelled them to say.

"Hey, Sam! Over here!" Matt had spotted me and was waving me over.

"Sam was there too, weren't you? Wasn't last night so weird?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah totally. So weird." Bonnie and the other girls she was with continued talking about last night. I over heard them say Caroline was recovering well in the hospital. She had gotten a blood transfusion just in time.

"So, ready to make some more clay snakes today?" Matt smiled down on me and I couldn't help but smile back, and laugh, what the heck?

"Maybe if you help me again. I'm so terrible at that. See you then?"

"Yeah, see you then. Oh and Sam?" I had started to walk away, but turned back when I heard him call.

"Try not to fall asleep in class again, okay?"

"Sure thing." I smiled all the way to first period. Up until I found out I had a pop quiz over the history of Fell's Church. Awesome.

Damon's POV

"She's sleeping in a car, Stefan. What do you think that means? I don't think her dream home is an '87 Honda Civic." Stefan was being ridiculous. Why was he sticking up for this girl? What did he even know about her? All I knew was she was 5'5, light brown hair, probably about 115 pounds, she knew about vampires, and she slept in a decrepit car.

"I don't know, Damon. You're the one who's stalking her, why don't you ask her?"

"Or you could, little brother. You are the one after all who goes to school with her."

"I have one class with her. That would hardly justify me prying into her personal life. Especially with the risk that she knows ours."

"Ugh, you're being ridiculous. I'm going to get a drink."

I couldn't believe Stefan. How did he not want to know who this girl with the grey eyes was? Just as I was getting up the nerve to ask her about her "house" she walked into The Grill wearing dark jeans, black boots, and a loose fitting button down. When she sat down at the bar next me, for some reason I couldn't get any words out. I could only stare at how her hair fell in waves down her back. When the bar tender approached her asking her what she wanted to drink, the spell she put on me finally broke.

"What's the matter? Too scared they'll find out you're under age to drink?"

"Nope, I just don't drink. Some people need it to feel good-" At this she looked at me with a sly look on her face, "and other people don't."

"I would be offended, except for the fact that I've already been through the seven stages and have come to terms with the fact that I am a happy alcoholic." She didn't say anything for a while, and I was starting to get antsy.

"So, where are you staying in town? I didn't know any properties were for sale." I kept glancing at her to judge her reaction. I was interested to see if she was going to lie.

"Now Damon, you and I both know where I'm staying, don't we? Why play games?" She turned her stool towards me and stared me down. I stared back for a while, but not used to people looking into me for so long, I had to look away.

"Ha, I thought that might have just been a one night only type of thing. Who knows with kids these days."

"No Damon, it isn't a one night thing. Thank you though for your concern. I'm touched that you cared enough to follow me around all night. Are you going to use my lack of a house against me and go screaming to Sheriff Forbes?"

I was shocked that she seemed so angry with me. For a minute I didn't know how to respond.

"No, I'm not going to use that against you. I was actually going to ask if you wanted to stay with my brother and me. The house is big enough; you'd never even know we were there. And if you could clean in up a bit, that would be great. You know, give it that 'womanly touch'." I gave her my biggest smile I could muster, but she didn't seem impressed at all.

"You know, one: I don't need charity cases, and two: I'm not going to live in your house just so you can keep an eye on me and possibly kill me in my sleep without anyone knowing. Thank you for the fake offer, but no thanks." With that she got up and left The Grill. What just happened? I was actually trying to be sincere. Yes, maybe, it's possible I wanted to keep tabs on her. But I also didn't want her living in a car in the middle of the woods with Tyler Lockwood roaming around.

Sam's POV

It had been a long day, and my conversation with Damon had really stirred me up. How dare he patronize me like that? When I finally got back to my "house" I collapsed immediately. I had been asleep for hours, maybe only minutes, when I felt someone hovering over me. I woke up to a man pinning my arms down with a hand over my mouth. I tried to get him off me, but in the confines of this stupid car it was proving difficult to find enough leverage. His other hand moved to my throat and the dark car started growing darker without enough oxygen to my brain. I felt his lips bend down to trace my collar bones and then felt his teeth graze my exposed neck. Vampire. Everything in my body was screaming at me to fight back, but I just couldn't. His lips moved from my neck and continued on to my ear.

"See how easy it would have been for me to kill you? Will you rethink my offer now?" At the sound of his voice my eyes snapped open and his face was hovering directly over mine. His lips were inches from mines and I could hear my heart beat pick up. His fingers loosened their grip around my neck but he didn't remove his hand completely. I finally drew in a breath of air and the car started to come into better focus.

"Damon." I coarsely got out his name. Having him this close to me was making the car grow fuzzy again. What was wrong with me? This was a vampire here.

"Say you changed your mind, and we can leave."

"I'm not going to change my mind. I'm fine here." At this his hand tightened around my neck and the sudden pain made my back arch into his body. I felt his muscles tighten at our touch at his pupils dilate larger. When I still didn't give in, he traced his other hand down to my hip and pulled my hips into him. I laid my head back and closed my eyes, trying to save what slight amount of oxygen my body still had access to. When he pressed his entire body down into me, crushing me between him and the car seat, my breath hitched. He tightened his grip on my neck and grazed his hand back up my body and into my hair. He pulled my hair until my face was directly in front of his.

"Just say it, Samantha." I was really starting to fear passing out, not only from being choked but also from being so close to Damon. I stared right into his eyes but still I didn't give him what he wanted. It looked like I was going to die first. His face started moving closer to mine, until I could feel the tip of his lips touching mine. The last thing I remember was seeing his eyes slowly close before the car went completely black.

Damon's POV

She really wasn't going to give up was she? If she didn't give up soon, I was going to have to. I stopped being able to tell who was going crazy the fastest. I could imagine how the lack of oxygen would feel, along with the fact that my body was crushing her lungs. But having her lithe frame right against mine was driving me mad. My hand held on to her small hip bone and I thought I was going to lose it right then and there, so instead I trailed my hand back up to her hair. Of course, her hair was incredibly soft and smelled amazing, especially for someone who slept in a car. I couldn't take it anymore. her lips were so close. I just needed to feel them, just once…suddenly her body went completely lifeless. I opened my eyes to see hers had closed. I immediately released my grip on her neck, but she didn't take in a breath like last time.

"Samantha?" I picked her up and took her outside. In the fresh air, her chest slowly started to rise and fall again. After I was convinced she wasn't completely a goner, I picked her up and gathered up the clothes and school stuff in the car. She was coming with me, like it or not.


	4. Water Works

Sam's POV

I struggle to open my eyes, but after a few attempts they open and bright white light floods my eyes. The last few hours are completely black in my mind. When my fingers find white sheets and a thick down comforter my mind goes blank with shock. Where am I? How did I get here? My imagination runs wild over the next few seconds and I imagine Klaus has found me and I'm trapped.

Fear takes over and I try to rush out of bed but my head swirls and I fall to the ground. I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and I know there's no escape now. My heart pounds forcefully as it accepts its fate.

Damon's POV

I hear a crash upstairs and I know Sam is awake. I can hear her heartbeat quickening as I rush up the stairs to my bedroom. I yank open the door and find her tangled in blankets on the floor. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her heart is racing out of control.

I bend down next to her and untangle her from the sheets and blankets. When I've uncovered enough of her, I pick her up and gently put her back on the bed. Her eyes still don't open so I softly caress her face.

"Sam, it's me, it's Damon. You're okay. You're safe here." At the sound of my name her eyes flick open and her grey eyes search mine. I can tell she is confused and afraid, but after a few moments her eyes clear and a hard angry exterior replaces the fragile one I'll probably never see again.

"Where am I? What did you do to me?" Her voice rises and she swaps my hand away while backing up to the end of the bed. My hand hangs in the empty space where her soft face once was for a second too long. I realize the moment is gone and we're back to being enemies. A weak human and a strong, murdering vampire.

"Well after you admitted that I was right and you're too vulnerable to live alone in a car, you came home with me last night. Now now, don't worry. Even though you practically begged me to do it I didn't take advantage of you." I smirk at the last bit and the next thing I know I'm on my back on the ground and Sam is running down the stairs. I quickly recover and race after her.

Sam's POV

Arghh! I can't believe Damon! How could he bring me to his house like I'm some poor sad puppy who needs protecting? And the fact that I can't remember to know if he's lying or not brings my anger up to a whole new level. I leap off the bed and knock him to the floor. I don't even care that I'm barefoot as I race down the stairs and out the front door. The cold rain shocks my body at first but I adapt quickly and sprint for the woods. I can hear Damon calling my name and wonder why he hasn't caught up yet.

I don't have to wonder for long because he is by my side in seconds. He grabs my upper arms and I don't know if it's the cold or the rain or the fact that I've been out done by a vampire again but suddenly I'm crying and if it wasn't for Damon's hands on my arms I would have fallen into the ground.

Somehow we both end up on the muddy ground and I'm crying into Damon's neck. I don't know how long we stay like this, maybe hours or maybe only a few minutes, but eventually the tears stop coming and I only feel empty inside.

"You're bleeding, let me take you back inside and clean you up and put you in proper clothes. Then you can go back to your car if you want, you don't have to stay."

I let Damon help me up and I slowly walk back to the house. My bare feet didn't stand up too well to the rocks and sticks outside and I lean on him to keep me steady.

Damon's POV

Seeing Sam this vulnerable confuses me. One side of me knows this is the prime time to ask her what she's doing here and to find out if she's going to be a risk for Stefan and I, but the other side just wants to sit here and hold her until she asks me to stop. I worry it's me that made her so upset and I decide she doesn't have to stay at the house if she doesn't want to. To satisfy the other side of me I tell myself I can still keep tabs on her in the car.

After awhile I help her back to the house and into the bathroom. I start a hot bath for her and leave her alone to find some clothes. I find some of Elena's clothes in Stefan's room and figure she won't miss them anyways. I'm still digging around for matching shoes when I hear her voice behind me.

"Damon…" I turn around to see her standing in a towel. Her hair is wet and appears darker than it normally is. Her skin is flushed and her cheeks are a wonderful shade of pink from the hot bath. I'm shocked into silence and can't do more than stare. I wake up finally and hand her the clothes.

"Oh…here…umm these are Elena's so they should fit…" She holds the clothes in her hands but doesn't leave yet.

"Damon, I…I…I can't do this."

Sam's POV

I can feel tears fighting to break free. It takes all of my self-control to turn away and enter the bathroom. I struggle to change into the clothes and I've only barely gotten them on when the first tears fall. This day has been too much for me. Images of Jamie flash in my mind along with pictures of Mason's face turning grey and hard.

If that wasn't enough, I keep playing every memory I have with Damon on repeat. I'm so confused. I don't know if how I'm feeling is normal and the fact that he's a vampire tells me it's not.

I manage to get dressed in jeans and a simple t-shirt and leave the bathroom. I realize I'm still not wearing shoes but decide against them in fear I'll run into Damon again. The rain continues to pour as I make my way back to my car.


	5. Poppies and Lemons

Sam's POV

I somehow manage to stumble back to my car and get inside. The soles of my feet are raw and bloody, but I decide they'll survive until tomorrow. I lay in the back seat and try to come up with a plan. I don't know if I should stay or leave. If I stay, I might end up in the same situation as last time but the one advantage is I no longer have anyone I love to lose. If I leave, he might find me but maybe that would be a good thing. Then all of this would be over.

I still haven't come to a decision when the sun rises and the rain finally calms down. I inspect my feet and remove several rocks and other shards in them. I use a water bottle to clean off the dirt and blood and put socks and boots on. It's uncomfortable but it's better than irritating them further.

"Tsk tsk…now look what you've done. All I wanted was to know where he was…but you couldn't give that to me, could you? Bring him in." The memory of Jamie being drug across the floor sears through my heart and I take it as a message to leave. Let him find me. Let him kill me. I can't live with these memories anymore.

After packing up what few clothes and items I have, I sling on my backpack and begin walking towards the highway. Hopefully someone will give me a ride to the bus station, or anywhere other than here. I've just made it to the highway when I spot a truck turning the corner. I wave him down and the truck slows to a halt a few feet past me. Unsure of what to do or say, I simply take the first few steps towards the truck.

"Sam? Hey, are you okay?" A boy with blond hair and blue eyes gets out of the driver side and easily crosses the distance between us.

"Matt?" I'm so confused that's all I can manage to get out.

"Hey, what's going on? Do you need a ride somewhere?" Matt checks out the cuts on my face and arms but doesn't ask me how I got them. I figure I'd rather ask him for a ride than some creepy man I don't know.

"Umm….yeah…"

"Okay, come on let's get out of the rain." Matt walks me to the passenger door and opens in for me. No one has done this for me in a long time and I manage to mumble a thank you while getting in. His truck is old but well-kept. A few empty food packages are scattered but nothing too horrible.

"So, uh, where to?"

"Umm…I guess the bus station. Y'all have one of those right?"

"Bus station? You're not leaving are you?" Matt looks concerned but continues driving in what I hope is the right direction.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"Why? What happened? Is it your brother?" I had forgotten I had told him that and certainly didn't expect him to remember.

"Yeah sort of. But it's also this guy, Damon. We got into a fight." Again I don't know why but I tell Matt the truth no matter what. Suddenly the car jolts to a halt and if it wasn't for the seat belt I would have flown through the window.

"Damon? What did he do?" I can tell Matt is angry but I have no idea why. He couldn't possibly know he was a vampire, could he?

"Oh…nothing he just didn't like where I was living so he tried to make me stay with him and his brother." Matt doesn't say anything to this but he makes a sharp U-turn and speeds off. I'm about to ask him where we're going when I'm back at Damon's house. Stunned, I can do no more than stare as Matt gets out of the car and pounds on the door. Damon answers after a few minutes and Matt instantly punches him in the face. No, Matt has no idea Damon is a vampire. I bolt out of the truck and up the stairs to the house.

"Matt! Stop! Matt!" Damon has just gotten to his feet and his face contorts into the monster he really is. Matt recoils a few feet and I'm able to slip in between them.

"Damon, please, don't do this. He didn't know what he was doing, please." He doesn't look at me and his face hasn't relaxed, so I place on hand on his chest and the other on his face. "Damon…please."

Damon's POV

Dammit! If only I had gotten there sooner. I leave the now empty car and head back to the house to regroup. Where else could she be? The rain makes it difficult to track her scent. I'm just decided to head to town to see if she's there when I hear a knock at the door. Hoping it's her, I go downstairs to answer it. Unfortunately, it's Mutt. The next thing I know he's thrown a punch and I'm on the ground. What the hell? I've been looking for a reason to get rid of him and it looks like now is my chance. I feel my teeth sharpen and extend. He takes a few steps back. Smart kid.

But then I feel them. Small at first. Not very warm. It's too cold outside. But my chest warms slightly. Then I feel the same sensation on my face. I look down to see Sam staring at me with pleading eyes.

"Damon…please." The sound of my names on her lips causes me to retract my fangs. This isn't the human I want to kill. I place my hand over the one on my chest and the skin to skin contact is almost too much to bear. My fangs ache to caress the soft, white skin on her neck. But they don't lengthen. She knows about vampires. She's afraid of them. She hates them. My other hand reaches for her face. My thumb extending to caress the pink lips that are trembling. Why is she so afraid?

Just when my hand is inches from her cheek, she is ripped away from me and into the arms of some boy. Mutt. Ah, that's what's going on.

"Get away from her! Leave her alone!" Mutt pushes her outside and I charge at him. I can feel my teeth lengthening once again. Yes, there's the right spot…I can see the vein in his neck pulsing. If I can just sever it I can protect Sam.

I cross the rest of the distance and close my eyes letting my instincts take over the hunt. My teeth meet skin and I bite down. Sweet, warm blood rushes into my mouth and some of it rolls out the sides. Frustrated that I'm losing the most delicious blood I've ever tasted, I apply more pressure and most of it stays in my mouth. I wish I would have killed this Mutt sooner…he sure is delicious. Something is hitting my back but I fling it off easily. I'm simply enjoying my meal when it happens.

Everything in my mind turns bright, I smell poppyseeds and lemons. I feel everything ten times stronger. She's everywhere. Suddenly my fingers sense long soft hair and I open my eyes in disbelief. The scene before me is so horrible I can barely stand it after the bright, poppyseed place I was just in.

My hand is wrapped around hair. It's a beautiful shade of light brown and soft and wavy. I'm kneeling on the floor over a small, crumpled body. Her eyes are barely open and several tears slip down her unbelievably pale face. I tear my eyes away and see Matt curled on the floor behind me. That must have been what was hitting my back. He was trying to save Sam. Save her from me. Save her from the monster who just took her life.


	6. Delusions

Sam's POV

Pain. I can feel it everywhere. Every muscle, every nerve, every cell is on fire with pain. I didn't think this is how it would end. Maybe I was right about the vampire, but I didn't think it would be Damon. I kept waiting for it to be over. I just wanted it to end. Soon, the pain ebbed away and I was left in a world filled with poppies and lemon trees. The sun was so warm. I'd never felt more at ease. Maybe this was death. I would be okay if this was it. I could stay here forever.

I could still feel Damon somewhere. He was here but he wasn't bothering me anymore. I wasn't angry anymore. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my two favorite people come out of the lemon tree forest. For once I'm seeing them not as the dying, suffering beings they were in the last seconds of their lives. They are so beautiful and they look so happy.

Jamie runs through red poppies and I embrace him into a tight hug. I've missed this so much. I'm afraid to let him go, but soon the emotion fear is foreign to me. The only things you can feel here is happiness and love. Next, Mason pulls me into his arms, and I finally feel complete. Whole. Like I'm not just simply a shade of myself. This is how I was meant to be. Maybe I never imagined us all dead, but could I really complain?

The three of us lay in the poppies for what could have been hours, maybe even days. Time is irrelevant here. When you have forever, why time it? I can feel Damon slipping from me, and then he's gone all together. I feel sad, but only for a moment and then the feeling disappears. If this is death, I want to stay here forever.

Something changes. The breeze dies down. The poppies around us disappear. The trees are shifting, shaping into something foreign. The sky turns a cloudless black. Suddenly I'm in another nightmare. Jamie is being tortured in front of me. Mason turns grey and as I clasp to his hand he turns to ash and blows away. Jamie turns pure white and fades into nothingness. There's a shadow of a man walking towards me from the trees. I can't see his face, but I know it's him. He must have found me, even in death. Unsatisfied that he was not the one to kill me, he came here to do it himself. I lay back into the now dead grass and wait for him to come to me. Hopefully I can find the place with the poppies again. I close my eyes as a shadow looms over me. Pain. I can feel it everywhere. Every muscle, every nerve, every cell is on fire with pain.

Damon's POV

I work quickly. I rip a whole in my wrist and put it to her mouth. It work to get her to swallow, but when she swallows enough at least I know she'll come back as a vampire. Now that I've met this girl, I know I can't live without her. Even if she comes back a vampire and hates me, at least she'll be alive. The wound on her neck heals quickly and as her heartbeat returns to normal I let myself relax a little. I've never felt this much shame at drinking human blood before.

I don't know what will happen when she wakes up. Will the grey eyed girl wake up the tough, angry girl I met at Bonnie's? Or will she be the beaten, wounded baby bird that needs protection? Maybe she will be something completely different. Only time will tell.

I sit with Sam on the floor for several hours giving her a few more doses of my blood. When Matt wakes I compel him to forget everything and leave. I would kill him, but I don't want to leave Sam's side. I place her on the couch in the living room and start a fire to raise her body temperature. When I sense her waking up, I move to the other side of the room to give her space.

Her eyes open in one fluid motion. She gently rolls her head around and takes in the room. She's so calm, I don't know what to do so I remain standing in the corner.

"Jamie. Is Jamie here? Jamie?" Sam seems completely disoriented so I slowly creep to her side.

"Samantha? You're okay. It's just me." When she looks at me, I know something's not quite right.

"Mason? What happened to Jamie? Did you find him yet? I looked for him at his friend's and at school, but he wasn't there. You don't think he's at Aunt Julie's do you?"

When she looks at me she seems so sad that I can't help but play along with whatever delusion she's suffering from. I don't know who Mason is, but I remember something about Jamie being her brother. "I found Jamie. He was at Aunt Julie's. He's perfectly fine. I think they're baking cookies this afternoon."

"Oh, that's good. He loves cookies." The relief on her face is so evident that I hope I've done the right thing.

Sam's POV

Good. I'm so glad Jamie is with Aunt Julie. And I'm so glad Mason is here with me. Some memory is tugging at my mind, but it won't surface so I try to forget about it.

I'm just so happy everyone is okay. Mason has been my safe haven since my mom died two years ago. He took my brother and I in out of the kindness of his heart. They say because he's a vampire he's supposed to be evil, but he's one of the best people I've ever known. He explained to me that there are bad vampires, and that I have to be careful. There's an herb called vervain that Mason gives to Jamie and I, we keep it on us always to protect us. Thinking about vervain brings the tugging memory back, but I still can't find it so I let it go.

"Mason, will you lay with me? Please. I'm so tired." Mason lies down on the couch beside me. His body is so strong and warm, I never feel unsafe with him. I turn so my head is on his chest. He wraps his arms around me and I could feel like this forever. I turn my lips to his neck and press them against his skin. I continue giving small kisses until my lips find their way to his. I start slow, only kissing the corner. Then I kiss his bottom lip. His mouth opens and I can feel his jaw tightening. Then I slowly kiss his top lip, until finally I press my lips onto both of his. First it's soft and warm, usually Mason wants to move quickly. He always likes the passionate ones. But today he lets me kiss him slow for much longer. My tongue just barely enters his mouth but his does not enter mine like usual. Strange. I return to only kissing his bottom lip but he still doesn't control the kiss. Something feels different. The kisses feel different. I feel different. A memory surfaces, but it's not the one I've been trying to recall.

Mason and I are out in the woods. He loved it here. We would come out here at least twice a week. It's the only place he felt safe enough to tell me all his secrets.

"I'm sure he's fine, Samantha. He's probably just at your Aunt Julie's house. You know he loves all those animals she has. We'll go down there tomorrow and check."

"Something just doesn't feel right, Mason. I don't know what, but its wrong. I won't be able to function until I know Jamie is safe."

"I know, sweetheart, but there's nothing more you can do. I'll take care of you. Both of you."

"I just can't help but think, I mean, you don't think…"

"No. Absolutely not. This is not, uh, his style. Don't worry about him."

"Okay, there's go to Aunt Julie's first thing in the morning though. Promise?"

"I promise." Then Mason kisses me passionately the way he always did.

Damon's POV

First I feel her lips on my neck. Warmth fills every inch of my body. After she leaves a trail to the corner of my lips, I'm in another place. Her soft kisses bring me to a place I've never been. Suddenly I'm back with the poppies and lemons. Everything is warm and bright. Any pain, any agony I've ever gone through in the past is irrelevant. Her tongue tickles it's way into my mouth but doesn't stay long. She goes back to lightly kissing my bottom lip, and I sit back and enjoy this feeling. But then it's completely gone. I open my eyes to find hers glaring into mine. Her face distorts into another side of her I hadn't seen. It was closer to the angry, bull-headed side of her, but full of so much spite it crushed every memory of poppies in my mind.


	7. Metal and Memories

Sam's POV

"What did you do to him? If you even touched him I swear to God I will kill you myself!" I can't believe what he's telling me. This whole time Mason and I have been looking for Jamie, he's been here the whole time. I can only hope he hasn't been tortured.

Klaus mumbles out some words but I can't decipher them.

"I want to see him! I want to see that's he's okay and then you're going to let him go. You can keep me, I'll do whatever you want, but you're going to let him go." I just have to know he's okay, then I can die. I wait for the pain of electricity to rip through me but it doesn't. Instead I can almost feel someone holding my hand.

I jerk my hand away from the man. Why are they doing this? I just want it to be over.

"JUST KILL ME ALREADY!" I can feel tears rip down my face as I hang my head in wait of what's to come next.

Damon's POV

Pain rips through my chest when Sam rips her hand from mine. She's crumpled on the floor in tears. I've never seen a human, or vampire for that matter, look like this. So defeated. So broken. It's absolutely heart-breaking.

I realize she's some place else other than reality, so I simply sit against the wall and wait for her to come back to me.

Sam's POV

Slowly, and painfully, images are shoved into my memory. Jamie. Sweet, innocent Jamie, being dragged in front of me. Already bruised and broken, the fear is evident on his face. After the first stab wound cuts open his chest, something ignites inside of me. Nothing like pain or anger, something much worse. Something that no words could ever explain. I can hear him crying for me.

"Sam! Why are you helping me? Please, Sam. It hurts! Sam!" I fight the bonds around my arms and legs but they don't budge. All I can do is watch the only family I have left in this world be taken away from me, painfully, stab by stab.

When Death comes for Jamie, I whisper an I love you and a piece of me breaks apart. A piece I know I will never find or fill again.

More images of Klaus flash through, and then I see him. Mason. They spared me the agony of watching Death come for him too, but the sight of his dead, grey body breaks apart another piece of me.

The next several images flash so quickly I only see blurs. Four dead bodies. A train. A woman with red hair. A snake. Blue eyes. Black dress. And then I see him. Damon. I remember him outside Bonnie's car. I remember him on top of me in my car. But most of all I remember him holding me in the rain.

I open my eyes and look around the room, finally shoved back into reality. Damon leans against the wall. Eyes carefully watching me, but he doesn't make a move. I can see pain in his eyes and I wonder if it had something to do with me.

Slowly, I make my way towards him and sit in his lap. I wrap his arms around me when he doesn't move. He warms up to me quickly and I can feel his strong arms protecting me.

"I'm so sorry, Damon. I'm so sorry." I whisper into his neck and I hope the simple apology is enough to make up for whatever delusions I just made him suffer through.

His hand caresses my hair and I snuggle deeper into his chest.

I hear him whisper back an "It's okay, I'm sorry too."

I look up into his black eyes curiously. "Sorry for what?" The pain is still there but it's clouded by something else. Guilt? Remorse? Fear?

"You probably don't remember yet, but you will. When you came here with Matt, I just lost it. I thought I was attacking him, when really I was attacking you. I gave you my blood and you healed, but when you woke up…I thought…I thought you hated me for what I did." His eyes looked away from mine and he carefully lifted me up and put me on the couch. He walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink.

"Damon, it's okay. I und-wait, Matt? Where is he? He's not-"

"No, he's fine. I compelled him to go home and forget what he saw."

Relief floods through me knowing Matt survived.

"Damon, can I ask you something?"

Damon's POV

The seriousness in her tone causes me to turn around and look at her. The bruising on her neck is healing but it's painful to know I caused pain to something so beautiful.

"Yes, anything."

"You said you gave me your blood before? Am I…am I a…am I dead?"

Her eyes pierce through mine with an emotion I can't read. Not only is it still uncomfortable to have a human look into my hunter eyes for so long, but something about her eyes gives me the feeling she's seeing everything in my soul. And the thought that she can see all the horrible parts of me is shameful.

"I don't know, Sam. We'll just have to wait and see. Your heart beat was so feint, I don't know if it stopped long enough to kill you or not."

And with the fact that she could have been dead, or worse, hate me forever for turning her, I grab the bottle of whiskey and head upstairs.

Sam's POV

What did he mean he doesn't know? Mason never explained to me very much how the transition happened. Just that if you didn't drink human blood, you died. Alone on the couch, I tried to force myself to decide which situation was worse. I had killed before. I could do it again. I think. Would death be better though? Was I ready to die? Did I deserve some peace. Some sort of reprieve. Maybe life was just a game. And I was definitely losing.

I could taste Damon's blood in my mouth, and the idea of drinking blood forever made me sick to my stomach. I got up and made it to the kitchen before the dry heaves began. After my stomach relaxed, I grabbed a cup and filled it with some water. After becoming satisfied that the metallic taste was gone, I made my way back to the living room.

Suddenly, pain ripped through my body and I collapsed on the floor. Every light was too bright. Every sound too loud. Every smell too pungent. The wound on my neck seared as my head exploded.

"Damon! Please." I could barely get out the words before the blackness took me under.

_**Author's Note: Wow it's been a while since I've updated! Cliff hanger ;) Hope you guys who stuck around enjoy! Let me know what you think and if I should continue Sam's story! Thank you so much for reading. XOXO**_


	8. Fate

_A/N: Hello all! New chapter up. Thanks to all who favorited/followed. Hope you enjoy! Sorry that it's really short and that I've been slow to update. Been going through some tough times but I'm healing. Much love._

**Damon's POV**

"Sam?" I hear her crying for me and rush down stairs. Coming around the corner I can see her crumpled behind the couch, clutching her side as blood runs down her neck.

"Sam? What happened?" I reach my hand around her neck and look into her eyes.

"Damon…everything…ah! Hurts…" Sam squirms beneath me in obvious pain. Her face is draining in color and the panic in my chest increases. The worst of my fears is coming true right before my eyes. I grab Sam and carry her to the basement. Carefully setting her down on the floor, I reach into the old white freezer and pull out a pint of blood. Human blood. Ripping off the top of the plastic I bend down putting the package to her mouth.

"Samantha, if you want to, if you choose to become a vampire, it's here. I'm here."

**Sam's POV**

I'm struggling the raise and lower my chest enough to pump air in and out. I never imagined death to be this way. So painful. So cold.

Damon's voice pulls me from the pain momentarily. I know what it is he's asking me, but I don't yet know what to choose. The pain clouds my mind and I'm too confused and scared to think clearly.

"If I do…If I change…If I don't want to stay like that…will you…change my mind…Damon…" Suddenly I feel tired. More tired than I've ever felt in my life. As the blackness takes me I hope my message was clear. If not, this will be the last time I'll see his eyes. His face. My hand feebly attempts to touch his face but I can't remember if it made it or not.

**Damon's POV**

I know what she was asking me, so I put the blood in her mouth and watch as she swallows the entire pint. While I wait for her to awaken, a long lost memory replays itself in my mind.

"_Stefan…I need to ask you something…" While my brother had accepted his new way of life, I was struggling. I didn't think I could, or would want to, live the rest of my life as a monster. I knew it couldn't be a human, they wouldn't be strong enough. It had to be him._

"_What's the matter, brother?" _

"_I need your help. I can't keep on this way. You must…you're the only one who can…" The words fall silent on my lips so I pull out the wooden stake from my coat pocket instead. I remember Katherine saying this is one way a vampire could be killed, so I had found a branch and forged a stake form it. Stefan's eyes fall flat on the sharp object._

"_Brother…I can't. We can live like this forever! Together! We can live any kind of life we want!" _

"_No! We cannot! We cannot live any other life than that of a murderer! Please, I'm begging you, Stefan. End this suffering for me."_

"_I will not. You will see brother. This is the life for us." Without another word Stefan turns and leaves me alone by the river._

_The emptiness inside of me fills up. I can't bear the thought of living as a killer. This isn't what I wanted. The easy silence of death is preferable to this. If Stefan won't do it, then I must do it myself._

_Mustering up every ounce of will power I have, I whisper my good byes to the trees, glancing at the glowing moon one last time. The stake rips through my chest as a single tear betrays me and slips down my cheek._

Obviously my wish to die was not fulfilled. A stake too blunt. Too far to the left. Only skimming the tissue around the heart.

I know what Sam asked me. If she becomes a vampire and changes her mind, would I have the strength to kill her. To end her suffering. And the answer is yes. Although is it my wish she will decide to live as a vampire, I know I would not make her live this life if it was not her wish. I would give her peace, and then complete my failed attempt many centuries ago.


End file.
